Date of Award:

12-2012

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Wildland Resources

Committee Chair(s)

S. Nicole Frey

Committee

S. Nicole Frey

Committee

Michael Conover

Committee

Christopher Call

Abstract

Utah prairie dogs have been extirpated in 90% of their historic range due to introduced disease, eradication, and habitat destruction. Most of the population lives on private land where animals burrow in lawns and agricultural fields, which keeps this threatened species continually in conflict with landowners. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has been relocating prairie dogs from private to public land since the 1970s, but relocations have been largely unsuccessful due to high mortality. Prairie dogs are highly social animals, but they are usually relocated without regard to their family group, or coterie. Coteries typically consist of one reproductive male, several females, and non-reproductive juveniles. Coteries have separate territories and burrow systems within the larger prairie dog colony. If Utah prairie dogs were relocated with their social structure intact, it may affect their survival rates and behavior.

To test this idea, prairie dogs were relocated from the golf course in Cedar City, Utah to two prepared sites near Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah in 2010 and 2011. Release sites had man-made burrow systems, and water was provided while the prairie dogs grew accustomed to their new surroundings. Prairie dogs were trapped, marked with numbered eartags, and released at the new sites. Animals were relocated as coterie groups, or in control groups of individuals trapped with no regard to relatedness. Animals in the different treatments were relocated to separate areas of the relocation sites. Two months after relocation, traps were set to recapture the released prairie dogs, and determine how many animals stayed at their release site. The best predictor of survival and recapture rate was the animal’s weight at initial capture. Larger animals had higher survival, but lower recapture rates. Large animals may have higher survival because they have higher fat stores that allow them to survive the stress of relocation. The larger, older animals may also have more experience avoiding predators than young, naïve juveniles. It could also be a combination of body condition and experience. More research is needed to determine the cause of the observed trend, and to determine a minimum weight for future relocation attempts. I observed no survival advantage to relocating Utah prairie dogs with their coterie.

Activity budgets were collected prior to, and following, relocation. Activity data were also collected on wild populations for comparison. Analysis showed no difference in behavior between prairie dogs relocated as coteries, and those relocated with no regard to relatedness. Relocated animals behaved differently from non-relocated prairie dogs. While still different, relocated individuals behaved more like wild prairie dogs than the animals at the urban source population.

Survival rates were different between study sites. To compare the two sites, vegetation transects were established to document differences in composition and structure. The vegetation at the two sites was significantly different. One site had significantly less grass cover, more invasive plant cover, and rockier soils. The sites also had different soil structures, which affect burrowing, and long-term retention rates. More research is needed to determine how site selection influences the long-term success of a relocation site.

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This work made publicly available electronically on December 21, 2012.

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